Portland Trail Blazers

Blazers look to end home woes vs. Nuggets (Nov 13, 2017)

Published Nov. 13, 2017 1:09 a.m. ET

PORTLAND, Ore. -- When the Portland Trail Blazers looked at their early-season schedule, they figured they had a chance to make some hay.

After playing their first three games on the road, 10 of the next 11 were at home. And at raucous Moda Center, the Trail Blazers enjoy one of the biggest home-court advantages in the NBA.

But after a 101-97 home loss to injury-riddled Brooklyn on Friday night, Portland is 6-6 heading into Monday night's game against Northwest Division rival Denver (8-5). The Blazers are 2-4 in games decided by four points or fewer.

"What makes it so frustrating is we could very easily be 10-2," point guard Damian Lillard said after the Nets game. "It makes losses like this hurt even more, because you've already let some games slip that we should have won.

"We shouldn't be having our heads down. We've been in worse situations. But being here is our fault. We've had our chances."

The Trail Blazers are solid in many statistical categories, leading the league in rebound percentage (.542) and ranking fifth in 3-point percentage (.385). But they have been woeful at scoring in transition. They rank dead last in fast-break points at 4.6 per game. Golden State leads at 27.6. New York is 29th at 6.0.

"Part of it is, we've been inconsistent defensively," Lillard said. "It's easier to run when you get a stop than when you're taking the ball out of the net."

The Nuggets come in on a roll, having won seven of their last nine outings, including back-to-back home romps past Oklahoma City and Orlando on Friday and Saturday.

In a 125-107 rout of the Magic, Denver scored 70 points in the first half and led by as many as 30 points. Point guard Jamal Murray set career highs in scoring (32 points) and 3-point shots (six) and shooting guard Will Barton had season highs in scoring (26) and rebounds (nine) while starting in place of the injury Gary Harris.

"Offensively, we're starting to figure it out," Denver coach Mike Malone told reporters. "You can see the confidence, the chemistry, the spacing -- guys playing off of each other. And more importantly, guys playing for each other. We have a lot of weapons."

Monday night's affair will be a battle between former teammates -- centers Nikola Jokic of Denver and Jusuf Nurkic of Portland. Nurkic, unhappy in a backup role in with the Nuggets, went to Portland at the trade deadline last season and made an immediate impact with the Blazers.

When the teams last met last March, Nurkic went for 33 points and 15 rebounds -- sinking 12 of 15 shots from the field and 9 of 11 from the free-throw line -- in a 122-113 victory over his former team.

The Blazers are hopeful Lillard will be able to play. His left hand got banged up in the final minute against the Nets.

"It went numb for a while," Lillard said. "But I don't plan on missing any games. I think I'll be all right."